Philippe Coutinho has become the highest paid player in Liverpool’s history

Aged just 18 he caught the interest of Italian club Inter Milan, who splashed out £3.4million to sign him in 2008 before loaning him back to Vasco for a year.

Coutinho quickly showed his promise in Brazil and when he linked up properly with Inter in 2009 he was hailed as the future of the club.

But despite making his debut in 2010, Coutinho struggled to force his way into a regular starting role with the Serie A club and was sent out on loan to Espanyol in Spain – where he made a good impression scoring five goals in 16 appearances.

That was enough to convince Liverpool to pay Inter £8.5m to sign him in 2013 where then manager Brendan Rodgers was convinced he would develop into a top class player.

Coutinho has seen gone on to establish himself as one of the Premier League club’s best players and he was rewarded with a new five-year contract in January 2017.

2008-2013 Inter Milan

2009-2010 Vasco de Game (loan)

2012 Espanyol (loan)

2013-present Liverpool

How much is Philippe Coutinho earning at Liverpool?

The emergence of Coutinho as one of Liverpool’s key players saw a host of other major clubs around Europe start to show an interest in signing him.

La Liga giants Barcelona were the strongest teams in the hunt and they were hoping to convince the playmaker to leave Anfield and move to the Nou Camp.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made it clear to the club that they should do everything they could to keep Coutinho at the club – including breaking their wages record.

So in January 2017 Liverpool agreed a new five-year contract with Coutinho worth £200,000-a-week.